Gas-gun.



N. GOODYEAR.

' GAS GUN. APPLICATION rum) JUNE 24. 1 09' Patented Apr. 1, 1913 B 4 M 7 L U n M A v .4. W Q I v .9. R i i U WITNESSES ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT oriucn.

GAS-GUN.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Ifatented Apr. 1,1913.

Application filed June 24, 1909. Serial No. 504,112.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, NELSON GOODYEAR, a

of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas- Guns, of whichthe following is a specificaoxygen and acetylene, which when ignited explode-with considerable violence.

It has'for' another object an automatic supply of the two gases required and means for conducting them into the firing chamber.

The embjidiment of the invention shown in the drawings and particularly described herein relates to a small cannon for saluting purposes or as a toy for Fourth of July celebration, etc.

It has among other advantages low cost for the explosive, enabling a great number of shots to be fired from one charge of gas stored in generators i or receivers. since the explosive usedin the gun is in a gaseous form instead of being in a solid or granular form, as with powder, there is muchless danger of damage being done when using the gunas a toy, as there are no solid particles to be thrown out unconsumed.

. Another advantage of this invention resides in the fact that when the proper gases are selected, as for example, oxygen and acetylene, or oxygen and hydrogen, there is no danger of explosion or ignition outside of the firing chamber of the gun, as the gases are stored or generated separately and when pure neither gas can be exploded or burned.

Further great adyantages of this invention reside in the great number of explosions which can be obtained from a charge of nominal cost. Also the safety of the use of this device is a great advantage over other guns shooting the usual forms of powder or explosives, in that the materials used to generate the gas or gases are themselvcs nonexplosive and great quantities of them can be stored with impunity, and without increasing fire hazard or danger in case of fire if properly packed.

Also

Til the following drawings one embodil ment of the invention is shown: citizen of the United States, and a resident Figure 1 is a plan View; Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the gun and gun carria e; and Fig. 4 is a transverse section throug the gun, gun carriage, and the gasconnections.

Referring to the drawings A is a gun or cannon mounted on a carriage B which is in turn supported by a base C. D and E are respectively an acetylene and an oxygen generator, which may be.of any of the well-known forms. In the present instance the acetylene generator D is of the type in which water-ismermitted to drip from a receptacle F through a needle valve G upon calcium carbid placed in the contamer-H. Acetylene is conducted from the generator through the pipe I which has rubber connections at J and J and leads to the pipe K which enters the gun at L. The pipe K also serves as one ofthe trunnions of the gun.

The'oxygen generator is of the displace ment type in which the gas generating material, sodium peroxid for example, is placed on a grating M in a vessel N which is open at the bottom to admit of the ingress and egress of the water from the outer tank of the generator E, which is filled to a level considerably .abovethe grating M. The vessel N is provided with. a gas outlet pipe 0 having rubber connections P and P corresponding to the connections J and J of the acetylene generator, which in turn lead to a pipe Q forming the other trunnion of the gun and entering the latter at R. Both generators are provided with. suitable screw covers S and S to facilitate charging and emptying when the material is spent.

The gun is supported by the trunnions K and Q, which are fastened by set screws T silion with reference to the gun.

of the gun is provided with a vent hole cl near the breech and coming just under the end of the pipe 0. The end of the pipe 0 reduced so as to form a restricted passage for the acetylene or inflammable gas, which latter may be lighted so as to maintain a pilot flame or ignition flame near the vent (l of the gun.

The trunnions K and Q where they enter the gun are inelosed in a close fitting sleeve 6 which is brazed or otherwise tightly fastened. to the gun barrel A. The trunnion pipes K and Q are closed at their respective ends f and g but are provided with gas ports h and i which are directed toward the breech of the gun, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

As will he understood from the drawings, the gun mounted on what is generally termed a disappearing carriage, that is, when the gun recoils the rocker arms U U and V \V revolve around their respective axes V and Y and the gun jumps backward and at the same time drops as the trunnions K and Q, travel backward in the circular slot 7. the two sets of rocker arms U and \V serving to keep the aXis of-the gun at all times pa rallcl to its axis when in the upper position. Referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the sleeve 0 is provided with a slot or portsj which register with the ports [L andi when the gun is in the upper or firing posilion, and since the sleeve c is fastened to the gun the ports do n t change their po- Since the truunions K and Q are rigidly held in the rocker arms 1 and U it will be seen that when-the gun rccoils the ports I; and '5 will change their position with relation to the gun and will be thrown out of register with the posts j, that is, the trunnion pipes K and Q will rotate around inside of the sleeve 0 through an angle UUlL'tS-llt'lfltlllig to the anguiar trav l of the rocker arms U, thus closing the gas connection between the generators and the firing chamber ol the gun,

and stopping the How of gas through the latter.

'lo pcrmitthc movement of the gun without disconnecting the gas connections, flcxi hlc pi pcs may he used, as shown at J and l.

or in larger apparatus rigid pipcs may he used having swing joints coinciding with the axes of rotation.

A spring kis .t'astcncd bet ween the rocker arms-ll and \V in such a way as to permit ol the full recoil of the gun while serving to return itto its tiring position automatically.

To prevent a .oo quick recovery a dash pot Z or an ripiivulent device such as a ratchet with cscapemcntlis provided. In

the (lash pot illustrated the end m is left wide open, which allows the-pisto'lim to travel down without resistance when. 1'8,

gun recoils, air being freely admitted to the end 0 of the dash pot above the piston by ports 7/. These ports are covered by a leather or rubber llap (I which is held in place by a shoulder r on the piston rod 8, which latter is fastened to a pin it connected to the rocker arms [i and UL The end of having adjusting screw-o for varying the aperture of the outlet port. \Vhen the gun is tired it recoils rapidly, extending" the above the piston 71. The recoil of the gun is arrested by the truunions striking the back of: the slot Z or by other suitable stops. As soon as the recoil is over the spring at once exerts an upward pull ending to restore the gun to the firing position. This action of the spring tends to compress air within the dash pot above theiston n which autonniti ally closes the tleXi le valve (1 over the ports so that no escape of air is provided, excepting through the small port a. it will thus been seen that the 'recoil of the gun will be quick and the recovery slow and that the recovery may be timed by the adjustment of the screw 1). I

The action of the gun as follows: The generators .D and E are charged with their respective gas generating materials; the

tops (1- and b are open and the gas issuing from the pilot pipe 1? is manually ignited. (his will flow into the firing chamber of the gun through the ports 71, i and and as soon as the mixture of gases arrives at the vent (I an expl sion of considerable vii'ilenccwill (a'tlll which causes the gun to recoil, which automati ally cuts oil the flow of gas from the explosion ehanilau', thus completely exlii'iguishing the flame within the gun. The {'(ttlll ol" the gun interferes in no way with the burning ol lhepilot. flame and as the gun returns to an! the firing position the ports and"; again (Ulltt into register with the. ports j and the gun commences to tilt up with gas again and tiring takes place as soon as the rent 11? comes up under the pilot flame. To a ll'ord complete combustion varying gases should be mixed in varying potlions-according to their nature. For in =lun e, to get the most violent explosion spring lr, air rushing in through the ports 1) i the trunnion pipes, or by .predetermiing the was in operatioi'i, there could sizes and drilling the ports and the stops at b accordingly, which saves experi menting when the gun is to be putinto action. The outer casings ot' the generators D and E are open at the top and the water chamber F of the acetylene generator is provided with a vent hole 10, so under no conditions can there be an excessive pressure within the generators 4 Under low pressure neither acetylene or hydrogen canbe exloded within the generator after the firs residual charge of air has been exhausted.

Neither is oxygen explosive in pure state.

It will therefore be seen that it is impossible for any flame to extend beyond the ports-h and i, as the gases arrive pure and unmixed up to these ports. Even should one generator become exhausted while the other be no mixture Within the generators or pipes. For example should the acetylene be exhausted and the oxygen still continue, the issuing gas at the trunnion port 2'. would readily find an escape through the vent (Z of the gun, therefore the pressure could not accumulate within the gun so as to force oxygen into the trunnion pipe K through the port h.

Referring to Fig. 2, the front end of the gun is broken away for the purpose of showing the stop a: and the projectile y. The stop :0 serves to prevent the ing or sliding backward into the explosion chamber at the breech of the gun, and may consist of a heavy wire fastened in the walls of the gun at its ends or may be embodied in the form of a shoulder or head turned with in the gun at the point 00 or any form adapted to arrest the backward travel of the pro jcctilewvithout materially interfering with the passage of the exploded gas into the barrel of the gun. The projectile may obviously be of any form for any purpose and if a hollow shell charged with explosives or combustible material for giving a white or a colored light the latter may be ignited by a time fuse which is in. turn ignited by the liash of the exploding gas within the gun. \Vhen used for firing projectiles they can be rolled down the muzzle 2 when the gun is in the position of extreme recoil or the gun may be operated from the stops (1. and b which is the safer method when the gun is of considerable size.

When used simply to make a noise as for Fourth of July celebrations, or for signaling purposes, as an aid to navigation during fogs, the gun may be fired automatically and itavill continue exploding at regular intervals depending upon the adjustting the gun projectile roll-- ment of the screw '0 so long as any gas remains. It should also be understood that I can substitute cylinders of compressed gas to take the place of the generators with equal effect and greater or lesser economy, according to conditions.

By suitable adaptations of the principles involved, many useful applications may be developed from this invention and I do not limit my claims to the particular embodiment of the invention herein "shown, as the details of the apparatus may be modified in a great variety of Ways.

I claim and desire to obtain by Letters Patent the following:

1. In a gas gun, the combination of a gun barrel and its mounting, means for permitting the gun barrel to recoil quickly and recover slowly to firing position, an automatic recoil check and means for admitting gases to the barrel during its recovery.

2. In a gas gun, the combinationof a gun barrel and its mounting, means for permit barrel to recoil quickly and recover slowly to firing position, an automatic ecoil. check, gas generators mounted adjacent the gun barrel and means for admitting gases from said generators to the barrel during its recovery.

3. In a gun, the combination with the gun barrel and mounting gt a plurality of gas storage means, means for leading gases separately from said storage means to the gun barrel, means for automatically igniting and exploding said barrel, means for permitting the gun barrel to recoil and recover to firing position and an automatic recoil check therefor.

4. An automatic gas gun comprisingagun barrel, recoil mechanism therefor, connections for supplying to the barrel, and means for preventing harmfpl admixture of the gases other than in the barrel.

In a gas gun, the combination of a gun barrel and its mounting, means for permit-, ting the gun barrel to recoil firing position, an automatic recoil check, gas generators mounted adjacent the gun barrel, means for leading gases from'said generators to the barrel, and means for automatically igniting the gaseous mixture in the barrel after each recovery. 7

(S. An automatic gas gun comprising in combination with the gun barrel an automatic recoil check, of means for supplying gases to said gun barrel and means for automatically igniting said gases in the barrel after each recovery to firing position.

7. An automatic gas gun comprising a gun barrel having a vent, recoil mechanism therefor, means for supplying gas to the barrel, a pilot light connection for exploding the gas at the vent and means controlled by the movement of the barrel for permitting exploding the gas.

and recover to I 8. An autou'latic gas gun comprising a gun barrel having a vent, recoil mechan sm therefor,- means for supplying gas to the -trolled by the movement of the barrel for permitting exploding the gas'.

11. An automatic gun comprising a gun barrel, recoil mechanism therefor, a connection for supplying gas to the barrel, means for exploding the gas, means controlled by the movement of the barrel for permitting exploding the gas and means for regulating the speed of the recoil mechamsm.

12-. An automatic gun comprising a gun barrel having trunn ions, a gas inlet connel'lion to one of the trunnions, recoil mechanism, and a valve for said connection actuated by the recoil movement.

13. An automatic gas gun comprising a ing Witnesses, June 23rd, 1909.

gun barrel having a vent, recoil mechanism gun barrel having a vent, recoil mechanism therefor, means for supplying gas to' the barrel, means for exploding the gas at the vent in fixed position to cooperate with the v vent only when the gun is in approximately firing position andmeans attached to said recoil mechanism to permit of successive automatic explosions after each'recoiland recovery.

15. An automatic gas gun comprising a gun barrel, recoil mechanism therefor, a connection for supplying gas to the barrel,

bar-rel for controlling said connection and means for prohibiting any back firing through said connection.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two E. VAN' ZA-NDT, E. 1. LA GAY.

subscrib- :a valve actuated by the movement of the 

